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You may have noticed recently that I have been reviewing some of Hotel Chocolat's more obscure products (covered fruit offerings - Sultanas, Mango Strips etc) and have been experimenting with parts of their range other than their standard chocolate offerings. Two more products sent my way recently by Hotel Chocolate HQ were these Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Brazils & Chocolate Macadamias. Had you asked me a few years or so ago whether I would be that keen on trying these, I would have probably declined as nuts were never something that stirred great excitement inside of me. Having tasted just how tasty some chocolate nut products can be over the past three years, my views have of course changed somewhat so I was of course very keen to give them both a try.Both of these variants came in 125.0g bags that contained around 20 or so nut pieces in each. I have commented at length previously about the plastic bag presentation before so I needn't probably go in to much detail again - suffice to say I think it is an area that Hotel Chocolat could improve in presenting some of their products, I don't think it quite meets the premium brand perception that their products command. With the said the both the types of nuts looked fantastically authentic when bitten in to. My photos probably wont do them justice, but both the brazils and the macadamias looked terrifically golden and ripe in colour sat below the thick outer shells of milk chocolate. The cocoa powder dusted on each nut type was a nice touch, however it did take away some degree of practicality to eating them outside the home.
Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Brazils - 'Whole roasted Brazil nuts panned in milk chocolate and cocoa powder'. These nuts were slightly longer in shape compared to the fatter macadamias though the chocolate was still equally as thick. The 40% milk chocolate delivered it's usual cream rooted sweet cocoa flavours, though it was of course the nuts which mostly dictated the taste. The Brazils broke with a delightful crisp freshness and with a nice crunch in the mouth. The flavours generated by the nuts weren't the strongest but there were tones of butter and nice earthyness which established a pleasant savoury flavour contrast to the sweeter chocolate.
Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Macadamias - 'Whole roasted macadamia nuts panned in milk chocolate and cocoa powder'. I could literally cut and paste my thoughts on the impression created by the milk chocolate from above - it did exactly the same job here. The differentiation was obviously bought about by the nuts at the heart of each piece. In contrast to the Brazils, the macadamias were sweeter in taste and had a fuller bodied, richer butteryness then left a slightly longer lasting flavour impression in the mouth. Like the Brazils these broke with a very fresh crunchy sensation - the textures of both nuts were fantastic.Overall both these Chocolate Brazil and Macadamia products proved themselves to be decent offerings without ever providing the wow factor that comes with so many other Hotel Chocolat products. Everything from the packaging, presentation and subsequent taste of both varieties was decent enough and on the whole up to standard, but given some of the other really special things that Hotel Chocolat offer they understandably didn't prove themselves to be anything out of this world. If you were to ask me which of the two nut types I prefer I would probably settle for the macadamias as I found them to be the richer tasting out of the two. With that said I would be more than happy to settle for the Brazils, as they were equally as tasty, just not perhaps as fulfilling. Whilst I wont be recommending these as a 'must try' Hotel Chocolat product I would feel more than happy gifting them or picking them up myself for a tasty daily grazing snack.
Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Brazils - 7.3 out of 10
Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Macadamias - 7.5 out of 10
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32 comments:
Lol this review should carry a nut allergy warning.
I like the sound of the brazils but I have never like macadamias that much. I have always thought they were a little bland personally.
You cant complain about the nuts being too small with these today can you Jim :)
I know that is one of your biggest bug bares with a lot of chocolates. These must have been just perfect for you. I dont fancy them much to be honest.
Huh? Is it Monday or something? You dont post Hotel Chocolat stuff unless it it Monday you have me all confused jim.
I wouldn't ever buy these but my dad would love them. If they did chocolate walnuts I would have to buy them for him. Walnuts are his faves.
Rxxx
What is with the recent switch to reviewing several products on one day? I aint complaining or anything I just noticed that in the last few weeks we keep getting more and more posts with two or more things in it. I do like it btw. Is it cause you have a load of things to review or something? Keep up the good work.
That is a far better score for presentation for those plastic packets. Last time you gave them something ridiculous like a 9 I think. 7 is a far more accurate reflection (still a little high if you ask me).
I dont really care for nuts so I wouldn't ever contemplate buying these chocolate nuts. I dont mind having nuts in alongside something else like in a fruit and nut bar, but I dont like them enough for them to be 90% of the product. Great review though Jim.
Whats up with the impromptu hotel chocolat Thursday? You had me all confused for a minute there I was thinking it was Monday again already lol.
I dont fancy these at all. They look a bit boring if you ask me, very unlike Hotel Chocolat.
Omg I didn't realise that HC did choco covered nuts. Macadamias are one of my weaknesses I absolutely love them. Sometimes I buy big packs of them and I end up eating them really quickly. I always feel really guilty because they are really high in fat arent they.
Hc chocolate + fresh nuts = always going to be a winner.
They aren't exactly innovation at its finest but I bet they are damn tasty. Thanks for the review.
I much prefer brazils to macadamias so if I was going to get one it would be the brazils.
Out of interest do they do hazelnuts or almonds? I would have thought they would have been the more traditional choices to use.
I do wish they would change that packaging it spoils their products imo. They look like something you would buy from a supermarket, not a super premium chocolate maker.
Once they sort that out I would consider buying them. They aren't exactly cheap.
Speaking as someone who has 0% interest in nuts I can tell you I have 0% interest in either of these chocolates lol. My brother would probably love them, he can eat a whole box of those Paynes Brazils to himself lol.
I like stuff like praline and peanut butter but Im not a person that is fussed by big nuts like these. If you pick the right ones you can get some that are really good for you, which have good fats and high amounts of protein in them. I can imagine these are pretty filling. Nice review Jimbo.
Lol it isnt often I can look at something from Hotel Chocolate and not have the instant urge to go buy something from them. I have just seen they have put up loads of new chocolate boxes. I guess you will be reviewing them some time soon?
If not can I put in a formal request for a review of the new cocktail chocolate box please?
Dx
Ewwwww nuts. No matter what chocolate you coat them in I wouldn't be touching these with someone elses.
At least these might have potential to bite off all the choc first lol.
These cant be the best thing hotel chocolat make but I have recently started eating more nuts (they are good for you ya know!) so these do interest me a bit. I would prefer if they had made cashews or hazelnuts tbh.
p.s. jim has left out the prices, someone post them up before Richard chips in lol. Only joking mate.
I didnt even notice these were made by hotel chocolat at first? It wasnt until I properly read the review that I noticed it was.
What is up with the packaging? These looks well cheapo.
Big nuts aren't a thing I ever buy so I to have zero interest in these I'm afraid. Like a few of the others have said I dont mind having nuts in my chocolate but I wouldnt ever choose to just eat chocolate nuts on their own. I just find the whole thing a little boring. Sorry.
I still liked your review though :)
The chocolate covered macadamias were in a selection I had before, might have been last year's Christmas one I think. The chocolate itself was nice but I didn't like them overall because I found the macadamias too bland for this kind of product. Personally I find that Macadamias taste better when roasted and lightly salted, preferably also with some honey.
I would love to see chocolate covered walnuts. :-)
These look cool and all but what would have been great is if they had made a pack that was a mixture of the two. Better yet they could have done a chocolate nut mix with all the nuts you can think of.
Now there is an idea they should try thinking about. I would buy that if they made it lol.
I would normally associate a hotel chocolat product looking a bit more special than these do. I have to agree with some of the comments that have been made already about the packets, they make them look well cheap. Totally unlike anything I have seen made by them before.
The nuts do sound nice though. I'm not a big nut lover but I do fancy trying some of the macadamia some time.
Macadamias are really bland I wouldn't ever want to eat them on their own. On the plus side that chocolate does look well thick. Normally if you buy chocolate nuts you only get a really weenie bit of chocoalte on them.
I dont like brazil nuts but I am more open to trying the macadamias. They aren't a nut I used to buy or eat all that often but I remember having a few of HC's macadamia pralines in a box I bought last year and they were lush. I dont see why everyone is complaining about packaging so much. Surly it is just the product inside that counts anyway?
Its hard to get a judge of the scale from your photos but these nuts do look pretty mighty.
Next time you photograph something like this can you give us some sort of thing placed alongside them so we can tell how big they are? The nuts do look lovely and golden.
I can identify with the people saying the packaging is crap for Hotel Choc. I find it a little bemusing that a manufacture that takes such care crafting such beautiful slabs could ever think about producing something like these. The plastic looks cheap and the orange label is so unflattering. Its a bit of a shame because I know my dad would love these but I would honestly feel embarassed giving them as a gift.
I'd certainly try the Brazils but I don't like Macadaemia nuts. I wouldnt have bothered with the cocoa powder dusting, it never adds anything to them for me lol
@Emma - your brother is a guy after my own heart!! lol. I also like Paynes Just Brazils.
Gosh I do love macadamia nuts. Them and hotel chocolat chocolate are a dream combination for me nom nom.
These seem really nice, but there are so many other products that I find more interesting and I'd like to try before :)
These don't interest me in the slightest. I wouldn't understand why anyone would buy chocolate covered nuts from hotel chocolat anyway. You would end up paying twice as much for something you can just buy in a supermarket.
Even cadburys make them in some form.
I have to be careful about buying these sort of products. I cant have anything like these kept in the house because one of my children suffers from nut allergies which is a real shame because my partner would most likely love the brazil nuts.
#1
Hi All
There has been a lot of reflection on the quality of the packaging today. Whilst my views on this matter aren't perhaps as extreme as the ones being expressed by some of you I would happen to agree that it is probably time that Hotel Chocolat grabbed the bull by the horns and made a change to this particular style they have.
Nick - Macadamias bland? Nah come on! If you get fresh ones they can be very flavoursome.
David - No not at all. No complaints about wholenuts not being used today.
Rachel / Kim - Sorry for the confusion. I have just had so many Hotel Chocolat products sent to me recently I need to get the reviews out.
Duncan - Indeed there are just so many things in the backlog but only so many days when I can post them up. Writing about multiple things is probably more interesting for most people anyway.
Steven - Indeed they wont win any Eureka prizes but they were still exceedingly good.
Tony - I dont think they do at the moment I'm afraid. They do make plenty of chocolates with both of those in mind you.
Nigel - Now you mention it they were pretty filling to eat as a snack. I enjoyed having a pack on my desk just for grazing.
Daisy - I have just been sent some of the latest selection boxes they have made. I will be posting about them in the next few weeks or so. I look forward to hearing what you think about them.
Anon - Haha that would be a little pointless just biting off the chocolate. You might aswell just buy a chocolate slab :D
Golden - Oh dear he hasn't commented today I hope you haven't upset him. I totally forget about the prices when it comes to these samples. It isn't something I obviosuly have to think about.
Anon - The branding isn't great on the labels is it.
Katie - Well I'm glad you still enjoyed the review even though the products were to your taste. I guess that it is going to happen to everyone every once and a while.
Anne - You found the macadamias bland? I am surprised to hear that, pretty much every single nut based product I have tried from Hotel Chocolat has always used really high quality fresh stuff. Perhaps they will notice your request for chocolate covered walnuts :D I would like to try them aswell.
Paul - I think people on here have commented before about wanting a fruit and nut trail mix that has been covered in chocolate. I think that would be such an amazing thing for Hotel Chocolat to make. Especially if they coated it all in their dark chocolate.
James - If you fancy them give them a try chap. You never know about thes things until you take a chance and try them :D
Estelle - The chocolate was very, very thick! Especially compared to other chocolate coated nuts I have eaten before. Of course the more the merrier :D
Stu - The packaging has to be considered as part of the total product chap. You wouldn't ever eat anything that looks like a dogs dinner now would you! Those macadamia pralines you are speaking of are brilliant aren't they. They are amongst my favourite ever truffles.
#2
Nicholas - Good point chap. I will endeavour to give you some sense of how large these things are in the future.
Joel - That is a good point. If Hotel Chocolat want to be seen as consistently delivering quality they should make sure that they keep the same principles across their range. Like you say, sit this next to one of their slabs and it just looks sloppy.
Alan - Indeed the cocoa dusting was a pain. Everytime I reached in the bag I managed make a mess of hands, obviosuly not ideal for when you are working away at a keyboard.
Ana - That is probably a wise choice if you are limited to the amount of times you can get hold of Hotel Chocolat products.
Linda - I am sorry to hear that. Like you say it is better safe than sorry though isnt it. You really can't be too cautious with those things.
Thanks for the comments today everyone - I will point Hotel Chocolat in the direction of your comments to see if they have any thoughts about the packaging themselves and whether they have scope to change it at all. There is a nice review coming up tomorrow - it is a type of product that everyone has been on at me to review for ages now.
JIM
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